John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Sissy, Angela, and Nicki are back in Lila Johnson’s third Fat Girls Club installment, The Queen of Hearts, a hilarious and heartwarming novel about friendship, confidence, and personal growth. Following on from the previous books, these three focal characters continue their challenging and ultimately inspiring lives through the trials of love and self-improvement on different sides of the globe. Humming with authentic dialogue, vivid landscapes, and complex emotions spilled beautifully on the page, this book is an easy slice of fun that still manages to provoke important questions about honesty, image, and societal concepts of success, making this powerfully-voiced book […]

Author Brian J. Purcell bursts into the magical mystery scene with The Divination of Celia Connolly, a dark tale of serial killers hitting close to home, and the tangled world of supernatural policing. Celia is the witty heart of this wicked tale, boasting sharp dialogue and a rebellious attitude that makes her a pleasure to read. Impressive in the depth of the magical mechanism, this new world is a fascinating one to explore, though the prose is a bit heavy on exposition. The narration is overly declarative and procedural, with few moments for reflection, but the boundless creativity on […]

Two memorable lives collide in This City is Empty, an emotionally gripping and challenging novel by Rovshan Abdullaoglu. Willie and Wisam’s unlikely friendship is steeped in intellectual maneuvering and debate, making this both a wonderful story and an educational treasure hunt with gems of knowledge peppered throughout. Driving headlong at tough topics such as depression, psychological disorders, family loyalty, individual honor, and cultural expectations, this story defies classification, but also demands attention. Abdullaoglu weaves philosophy, poetry, rhetoric, and self-reflection in a masterful way, making this novel an unpredictable and ultimately profound read.

 […]